Little Red Devil
by AKApolarbear
Summary: Zero really hated Aero sometimes...  Aero the Acrobat story


"Heya, Zero! How's it hangin'?"

A low growl emerged from Zero's throat as one sky blue eye slowly cracked open. He had thought that the lake would be an ideal meditation spot. It was just his luck that when he had finally gotten away from the hectic hustle and bustle of the city, a _certain someone_ had to show up and ruin it.

"…Aero…" He had hoped that the snarl would chase the red demon away, but unfortunately, Aero must not have caught the malice that was dripping from his voice.

"That's my name; don't wear it out! …Seriously, don't. The fans already do that enough." Aero replied, sprawling himself out on the tree branch he was currently inhabiting. Zero rolled his eyes in irritation.

"Oh, please. Don't act like you don't live off the attention." Zero spat, adding in his thoughts, _…Like a pathetic puppy._

Aero grinned. "I never said that I didn't like it."

"If you enjoy it so much, then why are you here? I'm sure that you could find a group of children to milk attention out of somewhere in the city." the martial artist asked, hoping to get rid of this annoyance as soon as possible.

"Aw, Zero…you make it sound like you don't want me around." Aero replied with a fake pout that temporarily graced his muzzle before his grin returned and he snickered.

"What amazing perception skills you have, Aero." Zero replied in a tone laced with thick sarcasm. Aero sighed and shifted from his perch on the branch.

"Oh, c'mon, Zero…" he said as, slowly, he readjusted himself into a different position. Once he balanced his center of gravity correctly, he kicked his feet off of the branch and flipped himself into a handstand. "You can't pretend that you don't love me. _Everybody_ loves me."

Zero glanced at up out of the corner of his eye, before shaking his head at the distraction. He came here to meditate. He wouldn't let his concentration be broken, especially not by the likes of Aero. However, as he prepared himself to enter his meditative state, he mentally snapped, _…Little showoff…_

Aero began shifting the position of his hands for balance, and, once he was satisfied with his stability, he started walking across the tree limb on his palms. "And, y'know…another thing. You really need to loosen up more. Get out, meet people, make friends that aren't trees."

Zero didn't respond.

Aero shook his head in disappointment. He made his way over to the end of the branch until it became too hard to maintain his handstand. At that point, he reoriented himself and spring-boarded off of the lumber, performing a backflip and landed on his feet. He grinned and bowed to an imaginary audience. After his self-congratulation, he glanced down to see if Zero managed to catch his performance.

Zero, however, was still 'meditating' and did not.

Aero's shoulders slumped and he folded his arms across his chest. If his sister was here right now, she'd probably say that his pout was adorable. Suddenly, he brightened and grinned as an idea formed in his head. Carefully, he walked across the end of the branch like it was a tightrope until the bough could no longer support his weight and he was positioned directly over the lake. Then, with all the poise of an Olympic athlete, he leapt off of his perch and swan dived into the water below, wings spread out to their full span.

The effect was exactly what Aero had planned in his head.

He hit the water with a large splash; a splash just large enough to hit Zero. The squirrel found himself hit by a wave of cold lake water and yelped, his concentration now broken once again. He stood up, his clothes dripping and himself completely soaked. He tilted his head back and roared, "_Aero!_"

Zero fixed the straps on his gloves and had every intention of mauling the little hellion as soon as he surfaced. He glared at the lake, scanning the water for where Aero would surface. He cracked his knuckles and gritted his teeth together as he waited.

And waited.

At that point, Zero's anger started to dissipate. It became replaced with confusion…and a slight amount of worry. He slowly approached the lake shore, glancing around for any sign of Aero. He couldn't see the performer anywhere in the water. Zero's brow furrowed and he cupped his hands around his mouth, calling out, "Aero?"

Just then, the surface of the water in front of Zero broke and Aero surfaced. Zero stumbled back in surprise, falling backwards. Aero squirted a mouthful of water in Zero's face and grinned. "You rang?"

Zero shook his head and wiped the water away before glaring at Aero. "What was that? You were down there for ages!"

"Relax, Zero! I do that kind of stuff for the crowd all the time! No worries!" Aero replied with a laugh. He flipped backwards in the water and fluidly brought himself into a backstroke, kicking away from Zero gently. As he did, he called out to Zero, "I knew you cared about me, Zero! Everybody does!"

Zero sat there dumbly before snarling and pulling himself off the ground. He really couldn't stand that little red devil sometimes.

-X-

**Disclaimer:** "Aero the Acrobat" and all associated characters belong to Sunsoft.


End file.
